Cyberbullying and students with special needs

Hiter razvoj informacijsko-komunikacijske tehnologije (IKT) je s seboj prinesel množično rabo komunikacijskih naprav in spleta kot medija za prenos podatkov. Tehnologija osebam s posebnimi potrebami omogoča lažji dostop do različnih vrst informacij, nekaterim predstavlja orodje za lažje in bolj enakovredno vključevanje v družbeno okolje. Skupaj s koristmi pa so, tako v obči kot v strokovni literaturi, vedno bolj v ospredju tudi pasti in nevarnosti spleta. Spletno nadlegovanje zajema vrsto nasilnih dejanj, ki jih posameznik ali skupina namerno in ponavljajoče izvaja proti žrtvi s pomočjo IKT. Zaradi lastnosti tehnologije tudi enkraten dogodek žrtev lahko podoživlja dlje časa oz. večkrat, kar lahko še poveča negativne učinke sporočil. Kljub temu, da spletno nadlegovanje nekateri dojemajo kot običajno vedenje brez fizične škode, kot običajen del odraščanja, gre za še posebej kruto obliko nadlegovanja, ki se v nekaterih primerih konča tudi s samomorom žrtve. Raziskave navajajo različne razsežnosti spletnega nadlegovanja, redke pa so raziskave, ki preučujejo spletno nadlegovanje med otroci s posebnimi potrebami. S spletnim vprašalnikom, ki je bil prilagojen za učence s težavami pri branju, smo opravili raziskavo, s katero smo opisali izkušnje učencev osnovne šole s spletnim nadlegovanjem v različnih vlogah. Z dodatnim vprašalnikom smo vodstvene delavce šol sodelujočih učencev spraševali o njihovih izkušnjah in preventivni politiki šole na področju spletne varnosti. S statističnim programom SPSS smo podatke analizirali in iskali razlike med podvzorci učencev z uporabo 2-preizkusa. Za analizo stališč anketirancev smo uporabili Kruskal-Wallisov preizkus. V raziskavi je sodelovalo 196 učencev treh izobraževalnih programov iz 18 osnovnih šol. Z razdelitvijo vzorca na tri podvzorce učencev (glede na izobraževalni program) smo primerjali izkušnje s spletnim nadlegovanjem med učenci, usmerjenimi v programa za učence s posebnimi potrebami, in učenci v rednem programu osnovne šole. Ugotovili smo, da večina učencev na splet dostopa prek računalnika oz. mobilnika, pri tem pa jih več kot polovico nihče ne nadzira. Med podvzorci učencev nismo odkrili statistično pomembnih razlik v izkušnjah s spletnim nadlegovanjem, podatki pa nakazujejo, da se v vlogi žrtve znajde približno desetina učencev. Raziskava je pokazala, da mladi menijo, da se znajo pred spletnimi pastmi dobro zaščititi ter da so o tem največ izvedeli v šoli. Kljub temu je opazna nizka stopnja zaupanja v kompetence učiteljev za svetovanje in pomoč na tem področju. V analizi odgovorov sodelujočih šol opažamo, da večina šol še nima sprejetih posebnih pravil s področja spletne varnosti, kljub temu, da nismo našli statistično pomembnih povezav med številom učencev, vključenih v spletno nadlegovanje, in prisotnostjo pravil s področja spletne varnosti. Na podlagi stanja smo oblikovali predloge in priporočila za preventivno usmeritev šol v spletno varnejše skupnosti, s poudarkom na posebnih potrebah učencev, kar predstavlja prispevek raziskave na strokovnem in znanstvenem področju.Information communications technology (ICT) has spread greatly in the last decade and brought along a widespread use of personal devices and the internet as a means to transfer data. ICT enables people with special needs an easier access to information and is considered a useful aid to interact socially in a more inclusive way. Not being only useful, negative aspects of technology are becoming more and more apparent in general public and in academic circles as well. Cyberbullying is a phenomenon, defined as repeated, intentional and aggressive act through ICT by an individual or a group towards an individual. Due to ICT features, the victim can experience negative impact from a one-time act repeatedly. Cyberbullying is considered a particularly vicious form of bullying that has resulted in instances of suicide by some of those who have been victimized. Despite that, some people still consider cyberbullying a normal part of growing up. The prevalence rates of cyberbullying vary across studies and we have come across only a few studies dealing with children with special needs. We have conducted an online survey, adapted for children with reading difficulties to describe different aspects of cyberbullying among pupils. Additional survey has been conducted with head persons of schools which the before mentioned participants attended. We have analysed data with the aid of SPSS application. We used chi-square test to discover if there is a relationship between sub-samples and a Kruskal-Wallis test to analyse pupils’ opinions. 196 pupils from three educational programs, attending 18 primary schools, have taken part in the survey. We have compared cyberbullying experience of pupils, who attend educational programs for children with special needs with those who attend the mainstream primary school program. Most pupils use computers or a smartphone to access the internet, with little or no adult supervision. With approx. one pupil out of ten being cyberbullied, no statistically significant differences were observed. Pupils believe that they know how to protect themselves from cyberbullying, about which they have mostly learned in school. There is an apparent low level of trust that teachers are competent to deal with cyberbullying. Although we have not found statistically significant association between the number of cyberbullied pupils and the presence of school prevention policy, we have observed that majority of schools still have not implemented acceptable use policies regarding ICT safety. Based on our findings, we have prepared recommendations for schools regarding cyberbullying prevention, so these institutions can become digitally safer communities. We have emphasized what schools need to consider when planning cyberbullying prevention to successfully include children with special needs